Defeating Al Thamen
by ashleyli
Summary: Al Thamen is the dangerous Organization, plotting to corrupt the world and cover it in depravity. Seiren, a Dungeon Capturer, cannot let that happen. And as she joins the forces of Sindria to defeat Al Thamen, will she find herself falling in love in the process? SINBAD/OC
1. Found

**Chapter One: Found**

The sharp pain in the woman's right rib cage bloomed as an elbow nudged her awake. The woman sucked in her breath and feigned drowsiness to mask her pain. The boatman held an impatient hand open. Money. Looking around at her surroundings, the woman realized that she was the last passenger on the boat. She dug into the pocket of her dress and found the money, paying for the ride, and slowly getting off the boat.

It was hot, and her body burned everywhere. The gate to the country was opening, and she could tell that the guards were waiting for her to cross so that they could close it. She took slow and careful steps until she entered the country.

"My name is Seiren. I'm here for vacation purposes." She declared to the guards, which was kind of true. She planned to relax a bit here.

"Miss? Are you hurt? Are you in need of medical attention?" A country guard asked her with a concerned look on his face. She smiled, knowing that she had found the right place to go.

"I'm okay," The woman tried to reassure him. "Thank you for allowing me to come into Sindria."

"Are you sure that you are alright?"

She nodded, almost unable to stand anymore. The bandages underneath her clothes were starting to leak. She needed to leave. "I'm fine." Then she left the guard, and turned the corner of a building, glad for the escape. All she needed now was to find an empty alley, one where she could rest for a couple of days. If she could do this, she would be fine.

This would have been accomplished if as Seiren had rounded the corner, she had not bumped into yet another man. Even as the collision was not head on, it was enough to make her headache worse, and her legs crumple from beneath her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," She snapped back. What was up with people asking her if she was okay? It was tiring. Every second that she had to talk was a waste of breath and slowed her recovery.

The man raised his brows at her sharp tone, and now she could finally realize that mistake she had made. The man that she had crashed into and the one she had talked back to was the king of Sindria. He had long purple hair and wore purple and white robes. He was also taller than her and wore a lot of jewellery. _Why am I brought nothing but misfortune? _She wondered. If the woman had ever dreamed of meeting the king, she would have wanted to meet him in a very different manner.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. I did not see your face." Seiren breathed, struggling to her feet, only to fall down again.

"There's no need to worry. Clearly _you _are not fine." Her eyes closed as she felt her body come from under her. _God, is he_ carrying_ me? The king? No, surely an advisor or one of his Eight Generals is doing this. _

She was too tired to even open her eyes to check. The bliss of being carried saved her energy; she didn't care where she was going. And she found that even though she had no idea where she was being taken, she felt safe.

She fell asleep.

….

Seiren awoke in a bed, her head feeling heavy. She was alone in a big white room. There was water and medicine on the desk beside her, so she sat up and drank a few gulps. _I should…I should wake up now. I should get out. Where am I?_ She pondered these thoughts no longer as she drifted back to sleep.

….

_I'm alone again…Where am I? _She wondered once more as she awoke, briefly taking in her surroundings. It was still hot and bright outside. Had a day passed, or was this the same day? She realized that her throat was dry and her headache was gone as she drank the glass of water, taking note that it had been refilled. She drifted once more, taking the covers off of her.

….

_Ugh, what is that awful sound? _The woman rose to sit up. She inspected her body in the clothes that they had put her in and took off her bandages. All her wounds had closed up and she felt stronger. Her magoi had returned as well. The rukh around her danced at her recovery, but also motioned to the window outside.

As she gazed out of it, all she could see was fighting. Was Sindria at war? She did not recognize the enemy country, but all she knew was that she detested war and didn't want it here at the moment of her recovery.

Seiren then looked around the room and found her original clothes, freshly washed, as well as her metal vessels and her bard's harp. She pulled her short red robes over her, which had a v-neckline. Then she slipped into boots and put her metal vessels on her—two swords and a bard's harp, which was blue along one side and twisted into gold along the other. Smooth red metal flowers adorned the swirls.

As she stepped outside the room, she confirmed that she was in the palace. It was too grand to be anything else. Yet…it was empty. Surely there were guards outside or workers in their stations, but no one was roaming the halls. They were all at war. So she quickened her pace and wandered, looking for any means of signs that meant that she was going up.

When she finally reached a balcony at the top of the palace, she looked into the field of people fighting and evaluated the situation. The Eight Generals were fighting, as well as the army. And while they're standings were good, they were completely outnumbered and there was a black mass in the sea, growing. The king was nowhere in sight, although she sensed him—or someone attached to him falling from their grace.

It was not a good time for Sindria to have a war. So Seiren made a decision and started playing her harp. The song she played was majestic and beautiful. It called for peace to anyone that reached its ears. Through the song, she sent a message to the enemy, telling them to go back to their territory. Slowly, the enemy retreated. Seiren knew that perhaps the king would scold her for making rash decisions while consulting no one, but she would face him head on.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" A sharp voice asked her. She was suddenly aware that she was not alone, though how the person had come up to the tall balcony in such a short time surprised her.

With the enemy retreated, she ended her song and opened her eyes. The guy in front of her was of the enemy, though he did not retreat. This must mean that he was considerably powerful. He had pale white skin that matched hers, long black hair tied in a ponytail, and red eyes. He also held a wand in his hand, one that was poised to strike.

"…Judal?" Seiren asked, her azure blue eyes meeting his red ones. Her long black hair swayed as the wind picked up.

"And you are?" Judal smirked, looking her up and down.

She rolled her eyes, "Guess."

"How the hell am I supposed to know who you are?"

"Ouch." She said in a mock-hurt voice.

"Look, I don't really care who you are. All I want to know is how and why you sent the Organization back. "Judal said, putting his hands on his hips.

_That was Al Thamen? _

"I could always force you. Cooperation doesn't always have to be voluntary." He threatened; waving his wand so that huge chunks of blue ice appeared above me.

She got his memo. "My name is Seiren." She said, "I'm your sister, Judal."

For a moment he looked shocked, and then disbelief crossed his face, which turned to the _I-couldn't-give-a-crap _look. "My siblings are dead. Even if you are my sister, I have no memories of you. This is the first time I can remember that we've even talked. You mean nothing to me." Judal said, "Now tell me what I want to know." The ice came dangerously close to her.

"I always did want to know what it was like to have an ungrateful little brother." Seiren muttered. "You can't deny that we look alike, though."

And they did. Both of them had long black hair, though Judal's was tied. They were around the same height, although Judal was slightly taller. And their skin colour was relatively the same, except his was paler. Other than that, the only big difference other than their genders was that Judal's eyes were red and Seiren's were an azure blue.

She threw a photo at him, using some of her magoi to make sure it flew straight and made it to him. It was a photo of their family before Al Thamen had taken Judal. They were all together, happy. Judal was still a baby.

"So? How did you survive?" Judal asked. "The Organization made sure to kill everyone in the village. How did _you _of all people survive?"

"I'm alive because of Alan, our older brother. He saved me. Made sure that I knew where I was going and distracted the Organization long enough for me to escape."

"So Alan's dead…." He murmured.

"So you remember Alan and not me?"

"Sorry, you just weren't that important." Judal said. She wasn't sure if he meant it or not, but she decided not to retort. "Now, tell me how you made the Organization retreat."

"Yes, we would appreciate an answer as well." Someone said from behind them.

Oh yay, now the king and his Eight Generals had joined them as well. It was the first time that she had noticed a black mark on the king's face, the signs of a dark curse. How long had they been there? Did she look like a bad guy already? "Did I make a mistake, making the enemy retreat?"

"Al Thamen is apparently adamant about controlling Sindria, with the Kou Empire." Sinbad replied, "And no, you did not make a mistake. We were not prepared, especially me."

Suddenly, Sinbad cringed and the presence of the person whom shared the same curse as Sinbad grew more apparent in her mind. _Crap! I forgot about the black mass! _Seiren thought, turning to the shore. It was still far, but it crept closer by the minute.

She put the king above the land and moved towards him. "Your Majesty, I can cure you and the person who shares your curse. We don't have time for them to rid it themselves. It is ruining them. Will you allow me?"

"Would you _hurry up _with your explanation already? I have things to do as well, and this is taking time." Judal snapped, the ice shards coming down on me.

"_Shatter!_" She commanded. Immediately the shards shattered to the ground. "_Judal, stand down! Stand down until I release you._" Seiren couldn't trust him to let her interfere.

Judal crouched to the ground, his expression sour. "What the hell is this?" He struggled, and almost broke her command, but she forced more power into the commands.

"I have faith in my allies," Sinbad said.

_What a stubborn king, _she thought, and with one step, she was right in front of the king, whispering in his ear. "You're already half fallen into depravity. Do you wish for this curse to add to that? I'm sure your allies can find a way to stop this, but what I'm saying is that we _don't have time._"

"Heal me, Seiren. Quickly." The king ordered reluctantly.

"Djinn Equip: Sitri!" The full body Djinn Equip gave her whole body armour and turned the sword on her left hip into the Sitri's weapon. Although she did not draw it, she merely put one hand on Sinbad's heart, and started chanting. _Manipulate the clean air, lift the curse…_she thought.

Usually for a regular wound, chanting would not be necessary, however this was a black djinn curse, with many commands, and she was healing two people who were connected, so the magoi she used was doubled.

"Not enough…." She murmured, and so put her other hand on his chest. She used more magoi and a faint blue light surrounded them. She fed stronger commands into the rukh, undoing the curse. But even when Sinbad was cured, she kept chanting, knowing that his companion was not. She undid the commands until his companion was healthy. Someone tried stopping her from the other side, but this made her work harder until they were both cured.

"Thank you," Sinbad said when she was finished.

"I'm not done yet," Seiren replied, turning around to look at the sea. It was close to Sindria, too close for comfort. Using the wind and Sitri's power, she flew above the ocean where the black mass was. It was part of the enemy, though it did not retreat because it was more of a virus rather than a living being.

_I'm going to need more help for this one, _she thought as she stared into the black mass that was emitting miasma. Seiren started drawing a magic circle around her with swirls of wind she kept together.

"_Wandering souls of the dragons…I am in need of your aid and guidance._ Djinn Extreme Magic: Anima Viam!" She cried as the earth below the ocean rumbled. There were many dragon bones near Sindria, she wondered why, but that was also lucky. This Extreme Magic needed to be close to a soul to work; and she found many.

_I haven't been called upon in a long time…. _A dragon emerged from the sea. Others followed. Soon there was a line of dragons. Their bodies were not real, their image was an illusion. But they felt real, looked real, and sounded real—and their power was definitely real. This made them almost invincible. The only way to get rid of the dragons summoned was through her.

"Thank you for aiding me," Seiren said. "We need to purify the miasma and the black mass ahead of us."

_Easy, easy! _They cheered, _these used to have more power when we were alive!_

This time Seiren drew her sword. Power surged in it as she called upon another Extreme Magic. "Djinn Extreme Magic: Anima Strike!" The power was released from her sword and as she looked around, the dragons had roared the same magic at the miasma.

When the swiftly growing virus dissipated and the ocean returned to its beautiful blue colour, Seiren sheathed her sword and thanked the dragons once more. Then she released the dragons before flying back towards the king, his generals, and an ever so mad looking Judal.


	2. Mistrust

**Chapter Two: Mistrust**

It was hard to restrain Judal from not killing her after she released him from her commands.

"Really, Judal, when did you learn such vocabulary?" Seiren sighed, shaking her head.

"Shut up and explain!"

She laughed this time, giving him a smirk. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea since he was already angry, but she couldn't help herself. "How can I shut up and explain at the same time?"

He lurched towards her but she waved him off. "Alright, alright, I'll start."

"My words are words of power. I'm able to bring out the greatest potential in an object or a person. I can command people and they obey; it's absolute." Seiren explained, "When I play the harp, I can also influence these commands through the melody, and it becomes more effective as it spreads through a wider area.

"While it is similar to using magic to give rukh commands, it differs to its execution. The more commands you give to rukh, the more magoi you use, and it gets complicated. I do not use magoi to issue these commands, nor do I use djinn." She finished.

"And you are also a Dungeon Capturer?" Sinbad asked, eyeing my metal vessels.

"Yes. I have the djinns Dantalion, Sitri, and Caim." She said, pointing to her harp, and two swords. "Thank you for assisting my recovery, by the way. I am in your debt."

"You aren't anymore, especially after saving me _and _my country. I feel more indebted to you." He said. "Although I would like to request that you help us fight Al Thamen."

"Wait one second. Wouldn't you rather help your otouto and the Kou Empire, _onee-san_?" Judal asked.

"While you are my family, Judal, I wouldn't mind seeing Al Thamen go down." Seiren resolved. "Judal, you say you are Al Thamen's victim as well, yet you stay by their side—even when you could escape anytime. You're my brother, but I cannot stand by your side whilst you support them. Did you forget that they completely annihilated our village?"

"Am I the bad guy for following the Organization's orders? Am I, Seiren?" Judal asked, growing angry, waving his wand around dangerously. "Is everything always my fault? Just because I'm on their side, you won't join me?"

"Are you going to try fighting me, _otouto_?" Seiren smirked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself just because you're older than me! I'm a Magi!" Judal snarled, conjuring more ice shards.

"Don't think me a fool, Judal. I assess situations before I act, and trust me, I'm not as weak as you presume." She said, her body ignited with fire and lightning. Rukh and magoi brimmed in the air. "_Leave, Judal._" She commanded.

His eyes grew brighter. She could tell that he was fighting against her, which she admired for his power. "You still have a long way to go, Judal. _Leave._" She forced more power through her voice, and he started flying away.

Once he was gone, she sighed. "_Jeez, _that _thickhead,_" Seiren muttered, then realized that the king and his Eight Generals was staring at her. "You aren't going to arrest me, are you?"

"Arrest you? Why would I?" Sinbad asked.

"I went ahead of military commands and stopped a war when I have no right. I purified you and the waters of your country. Two of those three actions were not with permission." Seiren said. "Your Majesty."

"Now, now, I don't believe formalities are needed anymore. Call me Sinbad. You will aid us, correct?"

"Of course."

"Then all is well. Yamraiha, could you create a new barrier?" Sinbad asked.

"I'm afraid that I have run low on magoi. Creating one of the same strength would take some time as well." A witch with blue hair responded.

He moved towards her and placed a hand on her arm. A yellow glow formed around his hand—he was transferring his magoi to her. "I'm still fresh after not being able to use magoi with the curse."

"Ano….Can I help?" Seiren asked, staring at the thick barrier with holes in it. Although she didn't have any water djinn and knew that the barrier was made of water, Yamraiha looked tired and she wanted to help in any way she could. She bowed, "Please, Your—err…Sinbad."

"Alright. When you two are finished, come to the sitting room near my study." Sinbad said, "I have some business to attend to but I'll be back before you finish." Then he disappeared, teleporting to a different location.

"Where is he going?" She asked the generals who were grinning in his wake.

"Probably off to repay a certain Al Thamen general for creating a war against his country." Sharkkan laughed. "That's our king."

Then he and the other generals retreated back into the palace to carry out their duties and tend to the injured.

"I'm glad you asked to help." Yamraiha said once they finished leaving, "It won't take nearly as long with the two of us. Do you have a water djinn?"

Seiren shook her head, a troubled look appearing. "No, sorry. Is there any other way I can help?"

"How's your magoi supply? Did you use a lot when you healed Sinbad-san?" Yamraiha asked. She seemed genuinely concerned. Seiren liked her and desperately wanted a female friend for once.

"I'm still good, don't worry about me!" She replied, hoping that she didn't sound too eager.

"Then how about you help me with mine? Just transfer some of your magoi to me if you feel I am running low."

She nodded, glad that she could do something. Seiren placed a hand on Yamraiha's back as she worked her magic, feeling her supply of magoi. Whenever she used too much, Seiren would transfer magoi to her.

It took a good forty-five minutes for them to recreate a very powerful barrier. Yamraiha used the most complicated of commands to create layers and layers of the new barrier. She even came up with the idea of Seiren commanding the barrier to not break or not let certain people in.

"The commands won't work if someone like Judal breaks it," Seiren said after they were finished, but even so, they both felt satisfied.

"Shall we go back to the others then?" Yamraiha asked, leading the way inside the vast palace. During the chaos of war, Seiren had never been able to fully appreciate the beauty of the building. She had no idea where she was going as she followed the witch, but every corner she turned was amazing.

They moved inside a large sitting room where Sinbad and his generals were talking. Nobody sat except for Sinbad though, who also motioned for her to sit across from him on a long couch. Even with the length of the couch, none of the generals sat. It felt awkward.

"Yamraiha, could you check up on Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu?" Sinbad asked before turning to Seiren to explain. "I sent them to conquer the dungeon Zagan."

The witch sighed, and Seiren could tell that her magoi was running out after constantly using it to battle, and set a new barrier. "I'm sorry. It was inconsiderate of me to ask you of so much. Rest and then we will check up on them." He apologized.

"Don't be sorry, my king. I would love to see if they are okay, but my source of magoi has been drained. I don't have much left." Yamraiha replied. Seiren knew that she was implying that either the king or someone else give her magoi, or she rest for a few hours.

"We can transfer some of our magoi to Yamraiha, Sin." A general dressed in green said.

"Thank you, Jafar." Sinbad said, also thanking the rest of the generals.

They gave some of their regenerated magoi to Yamraiha, and soon she had an image of the group that had left. Each person had a corresponding water figure. "It's not so bad." She said, "They managed to defeat a black djinn, but Morgiana is close to death and Hakuryuu lost his left arm. Alibaba's curse is gone, but it seems he went a little too far and Aladdin has used Soloman's Wisdom to bring him back."

"I made a mistake," Sinbad sighed. "I didn't think of their true objective."

"Worry not, Sin." Jafar said, "I believe Aladdin will be able to bring Alibaba back, and Zagan can heal Morgiana."

"Good." Sinbad said in a relieved voice before turning to Seiren. _Uh oh, _she thought. _Interrogation time. _"I am curious about your background and your djinns. Would you explain for us?" He asked kindly.

She wanted to laugh, to do something to ease the tension, but she didn't find the heart to under so much pressure. She crossed her legs and gave them what they wanted. "As you heard, I'm Judal's sister. After the Organization killed off everyone in our village, I ran to the closest village I could find and found refuge there. They took me in and taught me the ways of their village, which is how I learned to blend my commands with music. I later conquered the dungeon that had appeared in the village and decided that I wanted to clear more, so I started travelling." She said, "I was wounded when I came to this country because I had found a black metal vessel. It wasn't easy, destroying it, especially when its guardian wasn't so keen on my intentions either."

"My djinn Sitri controls Sky Magic, this involves wind and healing. She allows me to fight while also supporting my team. The reason I could temporarily 'resurrect' those dragons is because dragons were the original lords of healing and the sky. Therefore I can call upon them if in range. Caim controls lightning. I suppose you could say that I use Caim the most when I fight, but that's probably because he was the first djinn I captured. Dantalion uses fire, which is also helpful in a fight."

"I noticed that you have a substantial amount of magoi. Are you a Magi?" Sinbad asked.

Seiren laughed. She wished that it was only one of disbelief, but it also held confusion and bitterness. "There's no way. I've been told way too many times that I'm not. And I can't be if Judal is, especially since there are only supposed to be three. Maybe it's because I'm related to him."

Suddenly Yamraiha spoke. "They did it! Zagan chose Hakuryuu as its master and has replaced his arm with some material. I believe he also healed Morgiana as well. They're on their way back as we speak."

"I thought so. Alibaba doesn't seem to have enough magoi at the moment and Hakuryuu's magoi manipulation and style is more suited to Zagan." Sinbad concluded. "Thank you, Yamraiha. Please continue to watch them as they come closer."

"By the way," Sinbad said, "these are my Eight Generals. Pisti, Masrur, Drakon, Hinahoho, Jafar, Sharrkan, Yamraiha, and Spartos." They became accustomed with each other and Seiren realized that they were all warm-hearted people who respected Sinbad. They were also all very powerful and had their own unique strengths.

Seiren bit back a yawn. Post-recovery did not typically involve movement or excessive use of magoi, and while she hadn't thought much of it at the time, she really felt it now. Her whole body felt like lead. The slightest movement zapped a bunch of energy out of her. The most she could do was keep her eyes open.

It was too late, and Sinbad already noticed. "You must be tired. Pisti, could you show Seiren back to her room?"

She followed the small girl out the door and pressed it shut with her back, leaning against it. She didn't mean to eavesdrop; it was just that it took her longer to move now that she was tired. And leaning against the door felt very nice.

"I don't trust her," Sharrkan muttered.

"Keep an open mind." Jafar said, "She helped our country today a lot."

"I'm sure she's nice. I just need to be…reassured." Spartos said.

That was enough. Seiren started walking again behind Pisti. "I'm sorry about the others. They aren't very trusting, but I'm sure you understand. It's not that they don't like you, they're just wary. It's all so sudden, you coming into our lives and telling us that you will help."

"I know," she replied. "It can't be helped. Is there anything I can do to reassure them?"

"Don't be too pushy. I know you might be eager, but I think they would feel more at ease if they did the jobs they usually do." Pisti said, thinking of other ideas. "I think that's it. Over time they'll learn to like you."

"Got it; thanks, I really appreciate it." Seiren said as they entered the same room she woke up in.

"No problem. I know Yamraiha and I will be on your side and we'll back you up." Pisti winked, "If you want to get to know Sharrkan more, I suggest challenging him to a mini sword duel. He's always asking people to spar with him."

She put her swords and her harp on the bedside table and thanked Pisti again, considering her words. Then she collapsed onto the bed, revelling in its size and comfort. _A sword duel? That sounds fun. I wonder how good the famous swordsman really is…_Seiren wondered as she drifted off to sleep.


	3. Sparring

**Chapter Three: Sparring **

Seiren was eager to help with things that needed to be done around the palace, but she toned it down several notches so that they could relax a bit. She didn't do tasks alone, only ones that required a group. Yamraiha saw that the Zagan-capturing-group was to be attacked upon their exit from the dungeon, so she, Masrur, and Sharrkan went to save them. When the group returned, she was introduced to them and caught them up with what had happened while they were away.

Alibaba's pride seemed to be wounded, and she could tell that he thought himself to be of less worth than he actually was, but Aladdin was bent on correcting those thoughts. She had heard that Ithnan, the one who had been behind it all, had been destroyed by Sinbad and Alibaba. Seeing another Magi also surprised Seiren and she spent some time trying to work logic as to why there would be four Magi instead of three. The last she heard, none had died. So why was Aladdin here?

Hakuryuu had received a wooden arm in replace of his old one. Apparently it felt fine, good even, and moved just like his old arm. Morgiana felt better, but was resting in another room. Zagan had helped to heal a lot of the injuries that they had.

"Masrur! Spar with me, would you?" Sharrkan said when everyone finished most of their duties.

He blatantly refused, causing Sharrkan to go around to everyone until he asked Pisti. "You know I'm not good with a sword," She said. "Why not ask Seiren?"

Sharrkan turned to me. He didn't have a sour face, perhaps he was masking his emotions, but he looked…excited. "How about it then?"

"Sure."

"Come this way then, Seiren." He said, leading her to a courtyard. There wasn't much in it, just ground and some plants. But it was the perfect size for sparring. The other seven generals followed, as if amused.

"I won't go easy on you, but you can use both those swords, if you like." He offered, motioning to the swords on her waist.

"I'll use both if it comes down to it." She said. "Can we use magoi?" She really hoped so; it would open a door of opportunities for her.

He shrugged, "If it comes down to it."

Sharkkan approached her and she instinctively dropped into a defensive posture. He thrust. She parried. He had more of an offensive style, and Seiren found herself blocking him most of the time. He had her cramped in a corner, moving backwards steadily. She swung, and this time he blocked.

Seiren saw an opening and took a quick fake to the left before diving in for his leg, but he moved too fast. She stumbled past him and whipped around barely in time to deflect a blow meant for her hip. She pushed him away, unsheathing her other sword.

"You're pretty good," she praised him. "I knew I would need another sword."

"Why, thank you." He laughed.

Seiren moved quicker now, blocking with one sword, attacking with another, and using combinations. He jumped back when she brushed his ribs with one of her swords.

Sharrkan sighed, "It can't be helped. I expect you to refill my magoi later." Then he jumped up in the air, "Household Vessel: Foraz Saika!"

"Ooh," she marvelled as his sword became one long whip of light. Seiren sheathed her swords and dodged his attacks, reaching for the small harp on her back. "Djinn Equip: Caim!"

The bard's harp transformed into a long sword, crackling with electricity. She waved her sword in the air, gathering the iron sand from the wind and the ground to form around her sword. Seiren made the sand particles vibrate, dramatically increasing its cutting power. She gathered more and more sand until she had a whip like sword that matched Sharrkan's.

Then they really went at it. Both of them were a blur, and they're whips even more. All that could be seen were the dark of Seiren's whip sword, and the light of Sharkkan's. Neither of them gave an inch, but his technique was better than hers, and by the time he ran out of magoi, she had cuts along her arms and legs.

They were both panting. Seiren released the iron sand and her djinn equip, placing the harp back on her back. Then she held out a hand. "I think we can safely say that if I didn't have magoi, you would beat me flat."

He shook the hand, "Man, I'm tired! Spar with me tomorrow, would you? No one else does!"

"Sure. Swords only." Seiren said, knowing that she would only be using two swords and no magoi. Sharrkan was frightening though. He was amazing with one sword, she couldn't think of how good he would be with two.

She sent magoi through to him while they shook hands. He didn't have much, only enough to use his household vessel for a few minutes. But she refilled his magoi capacity because if someone ambushed the palace, they would need everyone to be ready.

That evening, she went to the roof just as the sun had set to find Sinbad. He had called her there, telling her that there were matters he wanted to discuss with her. He was staring out to his country, leaning against the railings. She joined him, marvelling over its beauty.

"You did a good job with Sharrkan. I didn't know you could use a sword so well." Sinbad remarked.

"You were watching?"

"I think everyone in the palace was watching."

"I'm not that skilled; there are still a lot of flaws in my technique. I'm sure he saw that as well." Seiren said, thinking over their duel.

She changed the topic as she viewed the country, "You're a fine ruler, Sinbad, building such a strong country in one generation. It's amazing."

"Thank you, I take pride in Sindria, and would hate for Al Thamen to bring ruin to my people." He smiled, "Everyone in Sindria is a part of my family."

She laughed, "I hear that's the excuse you give as to why you haven't found a wife yet."

He put his arms up as if trying to prove his innocence, "It's true!" Sinbad's expression softened, "I have enough with just my people."

_As a king should think, _She thought, _though we really do need to find a wife for him. _The burden of ruling can only be so much for a man."How did the world end up with a ruler such as you?" Seiren thought aloud.

"I'm not as saint-like as you make me out to be," Sinbad said, chuckling a bit. "As you know, I've already half fallen into depravity."

He didn't seem like it. "It has its advantages, such as being able to use both light and dark rukh. Then again, being half fallen…."

"It's never a good thing, right?" She finished.

"Anyway," She continued, not wanting to dwell on the topic. "What did you call me here for?"

He turned towards her, his eyes leaving the scenery. He had a powerful stare. Seiren couldn't help but turn towards him and meet his eyes. Sinbad even took her hand as if to emphasize what he was going to say. "I have a task to do that I would like you to accompany me on."

She refused to look at their joined hands and wondered if the gesture meant anything to him. Was he above using his charm to get his ways? Probably not, but did this count? His large hand still held hers and a sweet heat crept onto her hand from where they touched. Her hands, usually as cold as ice, felt warm under his touch, she felt safe.

It was such a simple act, and yet, the warmth felt as if it ran through the palms of her hands and penetrated the deepest part of her heart, the one she refused to let open. What was this feeling?

Seiren raised an eyebrow and grinned, addressing his request, "Oh?"


	4. Secrets and Scrolls

**Chapter Four: Secrets and Scrolls**

Seiren looked down at the extravagant dress that Sinbad had asked her to wear and automatically felt the need to take it off. It was different from the one she normally wore. For one, it was long and flowed. That itself was a recipe for disaster. If someone were to attack them, she wouldn't be able to run. She didn't mind that it was a royal blue, but she wanted to draw the line at the cleavage she showed. It was much more than usual.

_How am I even supposed to reach my metal vessels? _She thought. The weapons had to be hid in her boots (which she thankfully still got to wear) as they were covered by the dress. Her harp was strapped to her leg. She thanked Yamraiha graciously for being able to shrink her swords and her harp a bit so that it was a little more comfortable.

"Sinbad!" She said in frustration, ignoring her tone to the king. He was the only one in the room with her and the first one to see her after the maids had finished dressing her. "Do you know how uncomfortable this is?"

"It can't be helped," he said as if he didn't have a care in the world. And he wouldn't either, seeing as in he was in his fanciest of robes, but also his comfiest!

"Why is it that _you _don't have to hide your vessels?"

"I'm Sinbad, the High King of the Seven Seas. Everyone knows I'm a Dungeon Capturer so there's no need." He replied, "But _you_, Seiren, are my trump card. No one knows who you are. Right now, you just look like mistress I decided to bring along with me."

"And _why _do I have to be the one?" She asked.

"You're the only one available, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring you." Sinbad said, "You also fit your cover." He said, this time indirectly mentioning her cleavage.

She blushed, "Yamraiha would be more suitable for the job then."

"No, it has to be you."

Her blush deepened. How could the king think of her that way? It was true that they were only five years apart, which was close, compared to the age gap of most kings and queens. _Why am I referring to myself this way? _She questioned herself before shaking it off.

"It's time to go." He said in all seriousness.

"They're all out there aren't they?" Seiren asked in a tone a pure dread.

"Of course they are. They always see me off." He lifted her chin to look at her face properly. "We'll only be gone two days. That's today and tomorrow. The banquet is only tonight—you can bear 12 hours in this, right?"

"I have to, don't I?" She sighed. "Don't worry about me; I'll be able to hold my cover."

"Thank you."

"Let's get this over with," Seiren said, stepping outside the door.

As soon as the Eight Generals saw her, most of what she expected to happen, did. Sharrkan gave a hearty laugh at her image, Pisti laughed as well but also told her she looked nice, and Yamraiha told her she looked pretty and different. Spartos and Masrur were quiet. Drakos and Hinahoho tried to reassure her that she looked fine and Jafar…blushed.

"I'll be off then," she said in a hurried voice.

"Have a safe trip!" They called after them as they got into the boat.

"Thanks," Sinbad said. "Jafar, take care of the palace while we're gone."

"Understood." He replied, his regular demeanour returned. "Have a safe trip."

'Is this really the right time to attend a banquet?' Is what most people would think. But it all tied into their master plan. The country they were travelling to would only take a few hours to get to, and they would be there in time for the banquet. The reason they decided to attend was because the country was rumoured to be connected to the Organization. Because Sinbad was a king, he would dine with the king. The rest was up to her to find information once they were in the palace.

Yamraiha had put a spell on her so that the eight-pointed star symbol on her metal vessels stayed hidden and it also enabled her to use small parts of her power without being noticed. That would have to do, but if it came down to it, she wouldn't hesitate to fight back with everything she had.

They didn't have much to do as they travelled, the most they moved was to get out of the boat and into a carriage, and so they talked and got to know each other a little more. Seiren learned that he had previously been a part of the Partevia Empire. They told each other stories of great adventures and of times of even greater embarrassing moments. They even touched the topic of the craziest love confessions they had received. Of course, Sinbad had gotten more, but none as crazy as Seiren's first (and probably last, in her opinion).

"And then he proposed to me. In front of his entire kingdom!" She laughed at the memory.

"How did you handle it?"

"Everyone was expecting me to say yes. It was way too much pressure to say no, but of course I didn't want to marry the guy! He's nice but…." She trailed off, "In the end, I turned him down, telling him that I didn't think of him that way and that clearly his parents didn't approve of me. And they didn't. Not at all!"

"You turned down the chance to become a Royal? To rule in riches?" Sinbad asked, intrigued.

"If you don't like the person, why should you marry them? Besides, I didn't know that he had even liked me up until then. I thought we were set as friends." Seiren sighed, "I don't need royalty. All I need is someone I can look forward to seeing every day, and I'll accept all that comes with him."

"That's a good principle," He smiled. "Did I tell you about the time I was accused of taking sexual advantages of a young princess, and then almost tricked into marrying her to compensate?"

"Nope. I'd love to hear it!"

"I was visiting the Kou Empire and had fallen asleep after dinner. I woke up alone, so I didn't know anything had happened until the princess told me herself long after my return. It was such a big fuss! And it turned out that it was actually her advisor who had set up us!" He laughed, "All my eight generals doubted me!"

"Such trivial dilemmas at the time became such fond memories now," she remarked. "I love telling stories like this and thinking back at weird times. It's the best."

He nodded, "it really is."

"Your Majesty, we have arrived!" The driver announced; opening the door for them after the carriage stopped. By that time, the sun was already setting. The banquet was just a few minutes away.

Sinbad motioned for her to get out first, so she did, with him following behind her. They were sent an escort to guide them to the palace. While the country was a little bigger than Sindria, not all the civilians looked happy and well fed. But no one seemed to notice or take care as they continued walking on to the palace.

Sinbad noticed where she was looking, and put an arm on her shoulder, "There's nothing we can do about it now."

"I know," she said, giving him a thankful nod. "But it also feels weird, them staring at us."

"Bear with it for now. We're close to the palace."

When they entered the palace, Seiren automatically noticed that it was in worse shape than Sindria's, though also bigger. They met the king and queen in the dining hall, which was more extravagant than the main one. The king wore masses of jewellery on himself, as did the queen. She could feel his high-and-mighty stare looking them over. As for the queen, she showed more skin than Seiren, much more. She couldn't say she approved. They both were fairly tanned, with dark black hair.

"Welcome to Khartoum, Sinbad-san. I'm so glad that you could make it." The king said, "I see you have brought a female companion."

"This is Seiren, my current mistress." _My current mistress? _She thought shrewdly, not allowing herself to even raise an eyebrow.

"You can't pick, can you, Sinbad?" The king laughed. "Having a wife is great! You can even have more than one. You won't stay young forever, marry while you can!"

"Thank you for your advice." Sinbad replied as he took his seat. "This is king Zouzen and his wife, the queen, Adria." She was glad that he introduced them; she wanted to know their names. Seiren bowed lightly in response, not knowing if she was allowed to speak. _Women are so inferior in these times. It's likely that the whole conversation will be held by only Sinbad and King Zouzen. Maybe that'll change someday. I'll make it happen. Or maybe Sinbad will._

She subtly glanced over at the king, checking him over. She didn't see any metal vessels on him, nor did she sense any potential threat from him or his companion, but she really felt that there was some information about Al Thamen in this place.

Seiren asked a servant to refill her wine glass. It was probably her fifth time asking the servant, and they were getting used to just refilling upon it being emptied. She kept drinking the wine, which she thanked, to be white. Using Sitri, she purified the wine she drank, rendering it as coloured water. But slowly, she acted more and more intoxicated.

_I hope he doesn't get mad; _she let a giggle slip from her mouth. "Excuse me; I need to use the toilet." When the servant attempted to accompany her, she stopped him. "Ah, no need to show me where it is, I'm sure I'll find it. Besides, I feel a little—" She hiccupped, "—sick. I wouldn't want you to have to bear the sight or sound of me in such a state."

"She is quite something, isn't she?" Zouzen murmured after she had gotten up and ventured down the hall some.

"I'm sorry for her behaviour; I didn't think she would drink so much."

"It's quite alright, Sinbad-san. Besides, we all know that you yourself can be quite the drinker!" Zouzen laughed, "Although if you get tired of her, don't hesitate to pass her along me. She has me intrigued." He said, and she could almost feel his stare.

_Okay, bleh. Sinbad, please, don't ever let that happen. _"You'll be the first one I tell," Sinbad reassured him. She hoped it was just an act, as she went further into the hall, turning a corner. Once she was positive no one was around, she dropped the act and nimbly searched the halls.

Most of the halls were heavily guarded which made her think that they had something important to hide. But that didn't seem right. Why show that they had something to protect right in the open? So she ventured further, careful not to be seen, to a hall with only two guards manning a tall door and she threw a pebble down the adjacent hall to enter as they scrambled to the noise.

What she found was not a secret scientist lab or an office filled with fishy papers. Instead, she found a library. It was one of those extremely old libraries with every wall filled with books and the smell of paper. There were ladders that could roll down shelves and despite how almost every wall was covered in books and there were many windows.

Immediately she began her search. She found that they were sorted by category and immediately began searching through the A's and O's. She even checked the M's for anything on Magi. But there was nothing.

Then she scoured through the big room, looking for some sort of restricted section or secret passage way to more valuable books with even more valuable information. She found nothing. All the books were on history and political records. They were books and scrolls to keep as a record of the past.

Then Seiren looked up. Because she found that in many of the tales told to her, none of the heroes ever looked up, nor did the bad guys. It was such a fatal mistake and she was glad that she did because for the first time since she had been there, she realized that the ceiling was painted.

It wasn't the most beautiful piece of art, but she could tell that it showed a story. She wanted to get closer to it, so she climbed one of the ladders and looked at it from a better angle. It was a painting of a circle, surrounded by different circles. But after taking a closer look, she realized that the circles were circles of people. _A council? _Seiren thought.

Using Sitri to lift her in the air, she carefully traced her fingers along the ceiling while closing her eyes. She looked for any misplace of the rough texture she felt. In the middle of the ceiling, which was also the highest point, was a shift in material. It felt…heavier.

She pushed against the new material and found that it lifted up to reveal an attic of more books. There was only one large window in the small attic, and she found it oddly frightening. She saw no bugs, but felt that it was as if someone could come from the shadows of the darkness at any moment and discover her.

Seiren hated this feeling.

So she picked up her pace, hoping that they had not missed her absence, and looked through the books. They were placed in a random order, so she had to skim through all the titles. The she noticed the scrolls in the corner. They were messy and all piled, but she searched through them anyway and found a copy of the painting on the ceiling in one. She ripped the scroll and folded the delicate paper, pushing it to the bottom of her left boot.

Here were the papers of Al Thamen. The scrolls were not long, only about a normal pages length. They were hand-written by a scribe, it was the Organizations history. When it was founded, who founded it, its purpose, and locations of meetings around the world. She ripped out all the paper from the scrolls she found useful and tucked it into her boots after roughly folding them. Seiren did not consider that they may look for these again, she only knew that Sinbad had to see this and that he would make sense of it all.

She kept ripping and ripping until her boots were half filled. This is when she turned back to the books on the shelf. She had only peered at the titles and had not actually looked inside, but when she did, she realized that the cover was false and that the books contained information on Magi.

There were too many books and not much time to look through them all, so she flipped through the pages of a book that was larger than the others. She stopped when her eyes passed a title.

"'The Fourth Magi'…'Magi Siblings'," she whispered, ripping out the pages. "I feel pretty bad, ruining these books and scrolls…." All the scrolls she ripped were placed at the bottom of the hill of scrolls, hopefully hidden.

Seiren decided that it was enough, and searched the room one more time for anything important, but also to reassure herself that she was alone. Then dropped herself out of the attic, which was slightly scary, since the floor was at least a two stories below and she had to summon magoi to keep her afloat.

Then she put the platform back on the ceiling, checking to make sure it didn't look disturbed. She debated whether or not she should put a barrier over the entrance, but decided not to. For it would look tampered with.

_How did they reach this place anyway? _She wondered.

After setting herself down on the floor, she quietly peeked out the doors to see if the guards were there. Strangely, they weren't. The hall was quiet and empty, as were the others. But instead of feeling relieved as she exited the library, she felt unease. Something felt…wrong.

She found out what it was as she entered the dining room again. Sinbad was being tied up; his metal vessels removed from him, and was being roughly escorted to an unknown destination.

"Find his companion! Tie her up, but don't bring her to the prison, bring her to my bed chamber!" Zouzen commanded his men.


	5. Surprise Encounter

**Chapter Five: Surprise Encounter**

Which was more important, Sinbad or his metal vessels?

Seiren knew that in another situation, she would choose Sinbad. However, the guards taking Sinbad away were going in a different direction than the guard taking his metal vessels away. If she could take the vessels from a single guard, they would lead her to their master. If she followed Sinbad, she would know where he is, free him after fighting at least a dozen guards, and have to search for his vessels with a powerless man.

So, she picked the vessels.

She waited until the dining room was completely empty before going in the direction of the guard that had Sinbad's vessels. He seemed to be taking it easy, as if he were on a stroll. But he was alone. And protecting treasures that a whole lot of people wanted to get their hands on; namely Seiren.

Seiren tried her best to be quiet, but her dress occasionally brushed against the floor. The guard turned and saw her, and she had no choice but to fight him. He was heavier and stronger than her, but she was quicker, and knocked him unconscious before she could be hit. Then she dragged him inside a room nearby and turned around to find Sinbad.

Reaching inside the bag, she pulled out the biggest item—his sword. "Help me find your master," she whispered to it. She knew that she would not have to command the sword to help her, all vessels wanted to be beside their master.

"I can lead you to him," a deep voice said in her head. "But you will be connected with my master if I do so. You will always know his location."

_Somehow, _she thought jokingly, _that sounds really creepy. _But Seiren was prepared. "I'll do it."

"Then draw your blood with this sword and let the blood run over the vessels."

She cut her left arm with the sword and let the blood drip over the sword and into the bag. After, there was no sign of the blood anywhere, as if it had been absorbed. Her body pulsed then, as if turning a switch on. Suddenly she knew where he was, that he was close, and which way she needed to go. She didn't know an exact location, but she could tell how to get there.

Instead of going down like she had been planning, she instead went up towards the roof. On the rooftop was a great sight and the night breezes were cool, but there was also a tower, like the ones in fairy tales that kept a princess. How weird that this time it was a king!

She knew that Sinbad was at the top of the tower. There were two guards guarding the entrance, and probably a few more inside. Flying to the top would have been a good idea, but the tower was made of stone with no windows.

Seiren made a quick blow to the two guards' heads that were guarding the entrance and knocked them out. Then she hurried up the tower, not bothering to stay quiet as most of the guards had alerted the others of her appearance. The dress she wore hindered her movement so she ripped the bottom and made a slit through it.

These were the times when she wished she was born with the natural strength of a man. She did not wish to kill them, so she drew her swords, leaving them sheathed, and knocked them unconscious with that. Once she got to the top, she tried to open the door handle, but it sent a stinging zap through her body if she tried to touch it. A barrier.

The barrier was not as strong as the one Yamraiha had set up, but it was still troublesome, and called for her to use her djinn. There was no use hiding the weapons she had now, so Seiren put the swords back on her hips and the harp at her back as they returned to their normal size. Then she drew her right sword. "Djinn Equip: Dantalion!"

The sword ignited with white hot flames, swirling over her whole body as the rest of the armour of Zayn appeared. "Incendere Aspiret!" The waves of fire danced off the sword and struck the barrier. It shattered, and melted some of the door. When she crept inside, she found Sinbad, still in ropes, leaning against the back wall.

"Sorry I'm late," Seiren said as she untied him and gave him his metal vessels.

"I thought you were going to blast me away as well," Sinbad said, referring to her equip.

She was about to ask him something when she stopped short and smelled his breath. "Are you drunk?"

"You were too," he said. His words weren't as slurred as a normal man's, but he just found everything extremely funny.

"No, I wasn't. Trust a girl to be able to act, Sin—" He cut her off, placing his mouth over hers.

It took a moment for Seiren to realize that she was being kissed and not using her lightning magic, because it sent currents throughout her body. It was a soft kiss, one that didn't suggest that he was drunk. She pulled away after tasting the liquor on his tongue.

"Sinbad you really are drunk. Don't try that again unless you mean it." She said, not knowing if she was just making excuses or not. "What did you do to make them arrest you, anyway?" She asked, letting go of the equip to reveal her previous clothes. They made their way down the stairs of the tower.

"Nothing," he laughed as they exited the tower. "We were happily talking and then he randomly said he was going to keep me captive for Al Thamen. Did you find anything?"

"A lot." She replied as they jumped off the roof of the palace. "We better get out of here; it seems that we aren't welcome."

They quickly ran towards the countries gate. No one was around since it was night time. They found their carriage and told the men that they would be leaving early. Then she rode in the front with the driver until they got to the gate, where she ordered the guards to let them pass. Once they got through, she went back with Sinbad.

_For some reason, he doesn't seem drunk. It was only his breath that made me think so—was he faking? _Seiren thought, staring at him in the carriage. He caught her eye and held the stare, but she broke it off and lay down on the bench on her side to sleep.

They slept of their sides of the carriage, but after sleeping for a few hours, she just didn't find it comfortable and stayed up, looking at the window. She watched the sunrise and slept a bit more unknowingly, before waking up and spotting something outside.

"Sinbad, wake up!" She shook him. "Sinbad!"

His eyes fluttered open, fighting to stay awake and to adjust to the light. "Yes?"

"Is that a dungeon?"

His eyes were wide open, staring out the window. It was indeed a dungeon, one that was reached into the clouds. It had a dark atmosphere and they were right in front of it. "That definitely wasn't here before." Sinbad got up suddenly signalled the driver to stop before getting out.

"Let the horses take a break and eat. You do so as well," he said.

Seiren got out of the carriage after him as he approached the dungeon. "If this only just appeared…I wonder if _he _is here."

"Oh, Sinbad!" A voice said behind them. They turned to find a man dressed in a green magician's hat with green and white clothes. He had a rather feminine face, but also had silver blonde hair tied in a long braid with blue eyes. He also had a long staff that looked similar to a fishing rod, although it was pointed like a spear at the bottom.

"Yunan, I thought you would be here. As unexpected as always." Sinbad said.

"It's good to see you, Sinbad." Yunan said, caring a light smile on his face.

"Seiren, this is Yunan. He is a Magi and raised the first dungeon. I conquered it, although I've never been sure if I'm his King Candidate or not." Sinbad laughed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said.

"Who knows who you belong to? I'm simply a wandering traveler." Yunan replied. "It's nice to meet you, too Seiren. You remind me of someone."

"What was the reason for raising this dungeon, Yunan?" Sinbad asked.

"I just felt that the time was right. The 72th djinn Lamia lies in this dungeon. She rules Water." He said.

"Sinbad, could I capture this dungeon?" She asked the king.

His eyebrows rose, "Why so suddenly?"

"This dungeon is close to Khartoum right? Doesn't that mean that someone from Al Thamen could capture it? I don't want to take the risk."

"If you go in there, you would have to go alone. Are you alright with that? I can't go in any dungeons anymore." Sinbad said, a concerned look crossing his face. "We could come back with Jafar or Masrur."

"I'll be fine," she insisted, shaking her head.

"Indeed, you are quite powerful, Seiren." Yunan said, "But I'll warn you about this djinn. Kamia will show you your fears and things you want to leave behind. She isn't like any other water djinn. You will fight monsters that need fire to be beaten."

"Water creatures beaten with fire? Interesting," she thought, pondering the dungeon. "I'm still going for it. Sinbad, I don't mind if you leave. It might take longer to conquer and I don't like the idea of you waiting."

"I'll wait."

"What if Zouzen sends men to find you? What if the Organization attacks? Besides, Sindria needs their ruler." Seiren insisted. "I'll find my way back, trust me."

"If I don't wait—Yunan, would you please guide her through the dungeon?" Sinbad asked the Magi.

"I'm simply a wandering traveler," he said calming. In other words, his request was rejected.

"How's your magoi?" Sinbad asked, turning to me.

"Don't worry about me, Sinbad!" She said, giving him a thumbs up. "I still have a lot of magoi left!"

Nevertheless, he put a hand on her arm and gave her magoi. But it was only for a short time that he took his hand off again, "You do have a big supply of magoi. Are you sure you're not a Magi?"

"Definitely not."

He grinned, "You are full of mysteries." Then he turned to the carriage. "I'll be off then. Return quickly."

"Ryokai."

"By the way, what did you find about Al Thamen?" Sinbad asked as he climbed into the carriage.

"Some scrolls," she shrugged. "I would give them to you but I wouldn't want you to look at them without me! We'll look at them with the generals at the palace."

"Be safe." He said as the carriage drove off. _Jeez, he acts like I can't take care of myself. _Seiren thought with a smile.

"Now then, do you have anything else to tell me about Lamia?" Seiren asked, turning to Yunan, but she was alone. She chuckled, "What a wandering traveller."

Seiren put her hand on the dungeon's cold, smooth wall and immediately was sucked into the shadows.


	6. Lamia

**Chapter Six: Lamia**

Seiren was surrounded by seas of flames. She was gasping for air as someone dragged her through the burning village. She was small, she realized then, as she gazed upon the houses that seemed to tower over her. Smoke filled the air and made it hard to keep her eyes open, but she kept running.

"Find every villager—burn them!" Someone shouted an order.

"This is bad," the person who held her hand said. She realized that it was Alan, her brother. His face was grim and dirty. He was only three years older than her, and taller. "They're coming this way."

"Onii-san…" She knew to say, as if speaking from a script. Seiren had gone over this moment so many times. "What do we do?"

"I'll stop them, you run. Run and don't look back. Keep going until you find another village, or someplace safe. Trust your judgement, but stay on guard." He said in a rush, "I'll definitely stop them, Seiren. You will have a future."

"I don't want you to go!" Tears streamed down her face.

"Be strong for me, Seiren. Find Judal and save him. Share your burdens and don't let each other live through another tragedy alone." Alan kissed my cheek, "I love you. Now go!"

She felt nothing but sorrow. Seiren ran and didn't look back, doing as she was told. _Why are you so brave? Why can't we run together? _She thought as she ran, farther and farther into the trees. She ran for days and drank water that made her stomach churn and ate raw meat until she found the village that gave her refuge.

_Why didn't we escape together? _

Then the scene changed.

She was in the village, Kenna. This was the one she had found after running from her own. They provided her food and she had fun times. They taught her their music and dances. But there was once a time where she was playing with the other children.

"Where is your family?" A boy said harshly. "Why are you here?"

"You don't belong here!" Another voice said.

She ran from them and hid in the forest for hours. She felt the need to run farther, to live in isolation. The feeling in her gut was the need for her family and nothing else. She didn't want to live in a place she was where she was unwanted.

_Where are you, Judal?_

This time she watched five different scenes.

They were all the moments where she had found the Treasure Room of all the five dungeons she had captured. They djinns praised her, then called her their master and remarked on her power and personality.

"Your aura is similar to a Magi," they said in unison. "Yet you are not one. You hold similar traits and the rukh dance for you, but you are not a Magi."

It was always the same line she was given when she finished conquering dungeons. She always made the djinn her friend after, but whenever she first entered the room, that would always be the first line spoken.

Bitterness, confusion, envy filled her. Why couldn't she be a Magi? She had all the traits, why not her? What was wrong with her?

_What was _wrong _with her_?

Seiren put her hands on her head to stop from changing to another scene and squeezed her eyes shut. _Stop…just stop! _

When she opened her eyes, she was lying on her back on a cold floor. She was her regular size, and in the dungeon. Her self-esteem was feeling low because of the recalling of the past.

The dungeon was bright and glowed blue. Water surrounded her, it was as if she were in an aquarium. She swam the one lone path that seemed to be going up until she heard a roar. Blue eyes were luminescent in the darkness and she knew that she had stepped a little too close to the monsters lair.

_You will fight monsters that need fire to be beaten, _she recalled Yunan saying. "Djinn Equip: Dantalion!" The torn dress was replaced with Dantalion's armour, and one of her swords blazed with hot flames.

Suddenly what looked like a Sea Creature threw its body at her. She swung at it, but it dodged out of the way and hid again in the caves of the dungeon. Even if the water around her was bright, she couldn't see anything as it concealed the creature.

She let her flames take over.

The flames grew around her from her sword, white hot. Seiren grew immune to her djinn's flames long ago and they were comforting. Soon the water evaporated until it was just steam and she could see the Sea Creature, dry on land. She made quick work to get rid of it.

"Very good, Dungeon Capturer. Is that Dantalion I see?" A feminine voice boomed around her. "I expect to meet you in the Treasure Room, seeing as you have him by your side. But you will have one challenge before you are able to get in. If you cannot defeat the challenge then I will know that you are not worthy. Monsters will destroy you as punishment for trying to capture me."

"Beyond you is one room." Lamia continued, "In the room, you will be transported to an arena where 100 monsters ranging from Levels A, B, C, D, and S will fight you. They will appear at different times and there is one S Class monster, 4 A Class, 15 B Class, 30 C Class, and 50 D Class monsters. If you can defeat all 100 monsters, then I will allow you to come into the Treasure Room."

Lamia's voice disappeared. "100 monsters…I wonder what they will be like." Seiren thought aloud as she entered the room. As Riyadh had said, she was transported to a large arena. There were different structures around that she could climb or jump from and at the top of a building was a large golden door—the Treasure Room.

Monsters charged at her from all directions. The Level D monsters were white and resembled Sea Creatures, the Level C monsters were red, the Level B monsters were blue, and the Level A monsters were big red giants. The Level S monster was nowhere in sight.

She sent an Omni-directional attack from the air to see how each monster would deal with the attack and found that the D-monsters relied on force, C-monsters were fire-breathers, B-monsters were lightning-breathers, and A-monsters had tremendous strength.

_So they don't all have to be killed with fire, _she concluded. She cut through the D-monsters with the sheer force of her lightning blades, materializing some above them before sending them crashing down to deal with them quicker. She did this until every D Class monster was defeated.

She tried defeating monsters by Class, but it was hard to dodge the others while doing so and she didn't want to take up energy by reequipping through different djinn equips. A Level C monster grabbed hold of her in its claws and threw her to a pillar, and she hit into it with a deafening _CRACK._

Her body was wounded and growing tired. She could feel her magoi draining, but felt that she needed to go on, and continued cutting through each monster as if they were butter.

Seiren leaped into the air and materialized different blades from her different djinn—Sky and Lightning blades for the C and B Class, and Fire blades for the A Class.

"Dance, my blades." She whispered, making the blades come crashing down on the enemies so that they were defeated all at the same time. She got every monster except for two B Classes and one A Class. The Level S monster was still nowhere to be found.

She fried the A Class monster with a powerful jolt of lightning before equipping Sitri's sky blade and turning to cut down one of the B Class monsters just in time to save her leg that surely would have broken otherwise.

The other Level B monster charged her and she tipped her sword towards it. "Umida Trabem!" The attack created a swirl of piercing wind that struck the monster and left it limp.

All the monsters were fierce, but there was still one more. The S Class monster; Seiren knew that she had magoi left in her, but was it enough? Her body was aching, her ankle hurt so she limped, and she swore that she broke a rib.

If there was one thing that she wished her Sky Magic Djinn could allow her, it would be the ability to heal herself. That was the one drawback towards the sky magic. She could control wind, heal the wounds of others, and boost the abilities of herself and others temporarily, but she could not heal herself. This really sucked in most situations.

Seiren waited in the center of the arena for some gigantic monster to come out with an iron defence and an even better offence, but all that appeared was a small furry black blob with one eye. Somehow…the blob looked cute. But she knew that it was indeed the Level S monster, and the tension grew. She became more aware of her surroundings, bracing for how it would attack her.

The blob grew in size and transformed into something that resembled a knight on a horse, although they were connected into one body. It was black with hard armour and instantly crushed her against the wall of the arena. It kicked her across the floor and she skidded, trying to avoid landing on her ankle and instead on her forearms.

She got up and grimaced at the pain that jabbed her ankle, but she didn't care about it then. If she could defeat this monster, she could get to the Treasure Room. She could make it. So for now, she decided to bear the pain and launched herself at it. The knight punched her with a hand and pummelled her to the ground and she gritted her teeth to prevent a cry of pain from escaping her mouth.

_What a challenge, _she thought before launching herself in the air once more. She wielded two swords, one of lightning and another of fire and slashed at the monster until its roar was muffled and eventually it was motionless.

Seiren climbed the steps to the Treasure Room door, putting her hands on it and ordering it to open. While it opened, she was bathed in a warming light.

The Treasure Room, like all rooms of treasure, was filled with gold and goods that could make her rich. But the magnificent items of gold were not what drew her attention, but it was the djinn in the center of the room. The djinn was Lamia, and she had blue skin of the djinn with long navy hair. Lamia had several pieces of jewellery on her and wore white robes.

"Congratulations on defeating my challenge," she said. "I have one more task for you, though. Materialize Dantalion in front of me. I don't need to have a conversation with her; I just want to see her. If you can do that, I will choose you as my master."

Materialize a _djinn _from its vessel after she had just defeated 100 monsters? Seiren almost had to laugh. There was no way she could do that.

"Or would you rather I get rid of you right now?" Lamia added.

Seiren was still confused. "What is your connection to Dantalion?"

"He's been a friend of mine for a very long time," she replied, her patience shortening. "I merely wish to see him."

Seiren didn't mention the fact that Lamia could be with him if she became her master. She summoned all her energy and willed for Dantalion to come out from the sword on her hip, but nothing happened. Was her magoi drained? She knew that materializing a djinn from its vessel was extremely hard. Only Magi could do it because it practically sucked all the magoi you had in you out. "I'm sorry, I cannot do it. I have no magoi left."

"That is a pity, and you were so close too." The djinn said, "I'll get rid of you then." She moved to crush Seiren, who was about to accept defeat. She couldn't find the energy to move.

_Live. You will have a future. _Her brother's voice rang in her mind. Her eyes widened and she rolled out of the way. "Sou…dayo ne. I have to live," she whispered. "I still have so many things to do." Sinbad's face came into her mind, "Sinbad's waiting for me. I still have to save Judal. I have to get rid of the Organization. I'm not done yet."

She dodged another attack from the djinn. "I'm alive thanks to Alan. I'm alive thanks to my parents. I'm alive thanks to my village." Seiren said, her voice growing louder. "To abandon this life would be a sacrilege to the ones who are not here anymore."

"The Spirit of Flames and Heat, the 71st djinn whom commands fire, I order thine ancestors. Use my magoi to give me power, come out, Dantalion!" Seiren shouted, using the rest of the magoi inside her until she was almost bone dry. Blood flowed from her eyes as if they were tears. _I really spent too much this time, didn't I? _

Dantalion appeared in front of her. He looked a lot like Riyadh, except he was male. It was the first time she had seen him in awhile."Hello, Aneki. You've made us go through great challenges to reach here. Please have faith in my master, Seiren." His voice grew faint, "Let us be reunited, Lamia."

"Well done, Seiren." Lamia said, "I'm glad I could see my brother again and have decided. You will be my master." She disappeared and the ring on her right hand grew hot as an eight pointed star became visible on it.

_They're siblings? _She thought. That made sense now. The feeling of compulsion to capture the dungeon. Lamia's interest in Dantalion. It all connected in her mind.

Then the dungeon started to crumble. She didn't have time to look around, so she quickly grabbed a large cloth which she presumed to be a magic carpet, and a handful of gold coins for future needs. Seiren raced to the middle of the room where a beam of light was. It lifted her higher and higher into the air, and she basked in the warmth of the light as it transported her out of the falling dungeon.


	7. Are you falling in love with me?

**Chapter Seven: Are you falling in love with me? **

The noon sun blazed hot and bright in Seiren's face. She found herself in a large hole, the hole left by the dungeon. Not even one person stared into the hole, wondering who had conquered it. This was probably because the dungeon was created on a very deserted road.

She lied down on her back, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Sleep tugged at the back of her mind, gently coaxing and persuading her to drift for just a moment. Seiren sighed; she hurt too much to sleep. Her muscles groaned in protest as she stood to her feet, keeping her weight off her left ankle.

Some of her magoi had come back, but it was barely enough for her to fly back to Sindria on the magic carpet. She inspected the carpet and found that in the rush, she had picked a good one. It was a smooth, large, and sturdy maroon cloth.

Concentrating was hard in the blistering sun, but she managed to infuse the carpet with magoi and hop on, making sure she didn't forget anything. The carpet didn't need to be steered; she could even close her eyes and doze off, as long as she knew that she wanted to go to Sindria. The carpet could do the rest.

It felt good to rest her ankle on the carpet since she had ignored it during the fight. She also wondered if she had twisted, sprained, or broken the ankle—Seiren had never been a good doctor unless she could heal someone with magic. Being able to lie down on the comfortable cloth while it took her to her destination was relaxing as well, and she was almost sad when it was over.

She passed through the barrier and flew to the palace. She tried to land right on the entrance, but it was as if she could feel the little magoi she had leaking, and so she ended up being dropped a few feet in the air over the steps of the palace. During the fall, she ruled out places to land on. Not her feet, her head, or her sides. Her back or forearms might do.

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the hard landing, but it never came. Instead, strong arms cushioned her landing, catching her. Seiren sucked in her breath, her ribs having pushed against the person's body.

The person she had been expecting to see upon opening her eyes was Masrur but instead she found Sinbad staring into her eyes. He moved to let her down but she stopped him. "Wait; don't let me down—my ankle."

Sinbad grew stiff, his eyes steely as his hold on her tightened. "If I gave you magoi could you heal yourself?"

Shaking her head, she looked away. "Sky magic may be used to heal others, but not the user."

He passed her the magic carpet to hold onto before rushing into the palace, still carrying her in what she thought was the most embarrassing way possible. "Yamraiha!" He barked as soon as he saw the group of generals. "Come."

Yamraiha followed them, giving her a look that said '_What's with the sudden tone?' _But remained silent as they went into her bedroom and he gently laid her on the bed. He took off her boots for her and some of the folded paper fell out.

She attempted to tell him that they couldn't look at them without her and that she wanted to be a part of their discussion as well, but he cut her off. "We won't look at them without you, don't worry."

"So? How did you get these injuries?" Yamraiha asked.

"I captured the dungeon Lamia," she replied, showing the, the ring on her right hand.

"I'm glad you accomplished your task, but you're also injured." Sinbad said. "Heal her, please."

"I'll need to fix your ankle first and push it back into place. Water healing takes longer than your own, and it's a little painful at first." Yamraiha warned, giving her a light smile, as if asking her if she could handle it.

"I'll be okay," then she turned her stare to Sinbad who looked worried enough. "You need to go. If you stay you'll just put pressure on Yamraiha and I really don't want you to hear this."

He looked as if he wanted to protest, a worried look in his eyes. "Rest well," he said before reluctantly leaving the room.

"You, too," She whispered as he left.

Yamraiha giggled, "Did something happen between you two while you were gone?"

She blushed as she recalled the kiss, "Not much. Why?"

"I feel like your relationship grew. He's very concerned about you, and by very, I mean a little crazy." She said before taking on a serious tone. "Grab a pillow. Are you ready?"

Seiren nodded, taking a pillow and putting it over her face while gripping it with her hands. She heard a _CRACK _and the hot feeling of being healed. She gripped the pillow harder and cut the scream that managed to escape her lips short. Her body tried to curl inwards, but the water mage kept a firm grip on her ankle.

"The pain will be gone soon," Yamraiha tried to reassure her. "But your ankle is fixed, for the most part. I'll repair your ribs now; be ready."

She thought she was ready for the scream this time, but couldn't stop it. Instead, she just stuffed another pillow over her head in attempt to muffle the sound. Fixing her rib didn't hurt as much as the ankle, but it felt twice as worse from when she had actually acquired the injury.

"We're almost done, Seiren. Hang in there," She said in a soothing voice. "I just have to repair any cuts and minor wounds and make sure your ankle and ribs stay together and get better." Seiren wiped sweat away from her face with the pillow. The final touches of Yamraiha's healing stung for a short time but soon became dull. It seemed to take a long time, she didn't realize that she had fallen asleep until she finished.

Yamraiha then bandaged her ankle and any other areas needed before giving her some water. She drank happily, realizing the sudden dryness of her throat. "Thank you, Yamraiha. I owe you one."

"No need to thank me, I'm sure you would do the same." She said, "Now, don't make our king worry anymore and heal."

….

When Seiren awoke, it was still broad daylight outside. She felt as if she had slept for hours, so she assumed that a day had passed. Sitting by her bedside was Sinbad. "Oh, you're awake. Do you need anything?"

Her heart started beating faster at the sight of him, as if she had some big secret to hide. _What the heck? _"I'm alright. How are you?"

"Not nearly as in need of attention as you are." He chuckled. The fatigue which had previously been on his face was gone. She was glad that he had rested.

"Say, Sinbad." She started, "Did you actually get drunk in Khartoum? Do you remember anything?"

"That's what you're wondering about? Well I must admit that I do have a weakness for drinking, but you can trust a guy to be able to act too, you know. So yes, I remember everything." Sinbad grinned, quoting her.

"So you kissed me on purpose? That makes even less sense to me." Seiren blushed, turning her head into her pillow.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Hey—are you falling in love with me?" He asked her, lifting her chin up with his finger to get a closer look at her face.

She shot out of her pillow. "N-no!" She calmed herself. "No."

"You're right; I don't you could fall for someone like me anyway." Sinbad replied, as if lost in thought. "Rest for now and we can talk about the scrolls later."

And with that he was out of the room. _Jeez, what is up with that guy? _She thought.

_Do I like Sinbad? _She asked herself. _What is love? _She thought of him in times of trouble and it was true that she caught herself thinking he was handsome at times, but she was sure that everyone did that. Remembering the way her heart started beating at the sight of him, she blushed again and imagined another woman taking him away, draping herself all over him and decided that she didn't like the thought at all.

"Oh my…" she whispered, "I really have fallen in love with him." She sighed and pushed her head back into her pillow, deciding to sleep on it.

….

Seiren woke up at several different times after that, and all of those times Sinbad had been there. She was confused on if she should actually say something about her feelings towards him, but she wasn't sure. _There's nothing I can do for him. Nothing I can be to him. He's a king. _


	8. Enemy Information

**Chapter Eight: Enemy Information**

By the time Seiren woke up again, she was alone and her whole body felt as good as new. Her magoi had returned overnight and she finally got a good look at herself. All her injuries had been healed, but most of what caught her eye was that her hair and face looked terrible, the dress she wore was practically ripped apart, and she was _dirty_.

Therefore she took a thorough bath, washing her hair and scrubbing down her body until she felt clean and refreshed. Then she changed back into the comfortable short red robes she usually wore and took all the pieces of paper out of her boots before slipping them back on.

The palace was empty, but she ended up finding Sinbad on the rooftop balcony. The night that she slept, she managed to group her thoughts together. She thought that she couldn't do anything for Sinbad. He was a king and she a commoner, so how could they ever be together?

"Ah, Seiren, it's good to see you on your feet." Sinbad said, noticing the pages from the scrolls in her hand. "Shall we look at them now?"

"You've been very patient about what's inside these, especially since it has such valuable information." She said, "Where are the generals?"

He shrugged, "We'll find them around I'm sure."

She followed him to the same sitting room that they had talked in on the first say that she had woken up and on the way he had called an attendant to round the generals and the others up and meet them there. He was at least two meters in front of her and it felt awkward, it being so quiet. She kept her head down.

This wasn't such a good idea since she bumped into the king's back as soon as he stopped walking. He turned and put his hands on her shoulders, "Is something wrong?"

He wasn't that much taller than her, maybe about ten centimeters, she noticed as she looked up into his eyes. _He's a king. There's nothing you can do. _Subconscious thoughts filled her mind and she automatically stepped away from him and started leading the way. "It's nothing. Sorry, I just got a little distracted."

Seiren could almost hear the frown in his voice, and she knew that he didn't believe her. "I'll be here if you need to talk, though."

She nodded, and reached the sitting room. Even though they were just called upon, they had beaten them there. This time it wasn't just her and Sinbad that sat on the couch, all the generals did as well and it wasn't so awkward. Morgiana, Aladdin, Alibaba, and Hakuryuu sat with them as well.

Laying the pages on the table, she carefully unfolded them all. They stared at the one with a replica of the painting on the ceiling of the library and decided that it was a meeting that consisted of Al Thamen's people. "The scrolls are written in the Toran Language, so some of you might not be able to read much."

"You can read the Toran Language?" Alibaba asked me.

"It's an odd thing I picked up over the years," she chuckled.

"I can read it for everyone," he offered. When she gave him the go-ahead, he picked up a page. "Al Thamen, the organization bent on putting fate on the path to chaos, was founded by Iblis of the Ifrit in the time of Alma Toran. Its goal is to raise the 'Abnormalities of the World'. To further this goal, they have been taking over various countries. They believe that to be truly free from the prison of destiny which controls everything—a pre-determined fate and the structure of the world, is by falling into depravity and not to do as destiny says." Alibaba read.

He picked up another paper, "Dark Metal Vessels are constructed from one person's family around the world. They are used to fight and Black Djinn may be summoned if the user pierces themselves with the vessel."

Setting that paper aside, he went through another. "They want to erase the world that king Soloman created (in which are now the humans'), turning it into a world of chaos. For that, they would use the power called "Dark Spot", a hole in the world created by a great quantity of black magoi. From the incarnation of evil would appear and eat the white rukh of the world. The only person who can achieve making the "Dark Spot" successfully is the oracle of Al Thamen."

What Alibaba read terrified Seiren and she froze at the word 'oracle'. "That's definitely got to be Judal," she whispered.

"These are lists of locations for meetings and previous leaders," Alibaba said. "All that's left is…" he trailed off, looking at the two leftover sheets of paper.

She knew what they were about. The pages she had ripped out of the large book. "Can I read them?" Seiren asked, taking the pages.

He nodded, "Go ahead."

"The Fourth Magi—" she read, looking at Aladdin. "—will appear with survivors from Alma Toran." Seiren stopped and addressed Aladdin, "You knew this already, didn't you? I think it would make much more sense if you explained rather than me."

"You're very wise, Seiren-san." He smiled, "It's true that I already knew that. When I first came here, I remembered nothing, and was only a hungry boy eating watermelons belonging to Alibaba'a master. But then in Balbadd when I was recovering from the fight with Judal, Ugo visited me and gave me Soloman's Wisdom. I remembered everything and gained a lot of knowledge.

"Alma Toran is my hometown. War exploded there where Magicians and Goi fought each other. They were attacked by Black Djinn and Al Thamen. A lot of people died, but Soloman created a new world—this world—and sent the survivors here in the future. That's why there are four Magi today, because I'm from Alma Toran."

"And that," Seiren said, "makes a lot more sense than what I came up with in my head."

Everyone laughed. It was a good break from the serious atmosphere we were so used to these days. "What does the last paper say, Seiren-dono?" Hakuryuu asked.

"Well, it's about Magi Siblings." She replied, starting to read. "A Magi's siblings are known to have a vast capacity of magoi approximately the same amount as a Magi. The rukh love Magi's, and they also love their siblings. This does not mean that they are Magi, because if a sibling were to acquire Soloman's Wisdom, they—just as any other human—would not be able to handle all the information in their brains." Her eyes tightened at the next line. "Magi siblings are known to be troublesome meddlers. They are to be killed on sight, although this is usually done when upon retrieval of the Al Thamen oracle."

"Is that the only difference?" Spartos asked. "Why are they troublesome?"

"The rest got ripped off," she said apologetically.

The mark on Aladdin's forehead started to glow, "Magi siblings have been known to be troublesome because in the case that either the Magi or their sibling run out of magoi, they will feed off the others magoi. Although if both should run out of magoi, the sibling's life force if offered to the Magi as a source of magoi."

"Judal could kill me," she whispered.

"No, Seiren-san. He could only use your life force if he had the heart, and a very long ritual needs to be done to use the other person's life force and it can only be done at the time of need." Aladdin tried to reassure her.

Did Judal have the heart to kill her? She didn't know him at all, didn't know his favourite foods or colours, nor did he know anything about her. He had said it himself, she meant _nothing _to him. "That's assuming they know the ritual," Morgiana said in an attempt to reassure her as well.

"I think I must be defective," I said, "when I ran out of magoi in the dungeon, it was recovered. Does that mean only Judal can tap into my magoi?"

She didn't know if she were reassured from this fact or not. This meant that she could not kill Judal, but it also meant that he could still tap into her own supply, and kill her if he wanted.

"Speak of the devil," Yamraiha murmured. "He's going to break through the barrier _again_!"

"Leave him to me," Seiren said. "Don't worry if I don't come back for a bit. I just want to talk to him." Without listening to anyone's protest, she flew into the air and went up into the sky, seeing Judal on the other side of the barrier. He was alone.

"Yo, _Aneki_!" Judal said with a smirk as he saw her.

"Ohayo, Judal." She replied, looking at the sun. Her greeting was wrong; resting had thrown off her sense of time and it was a little after noon and not the morning.

He put his hands on his hips, "You aren't here to stop me or _command _me again, are you?"

"No, I wasn't, believe it or not. I just wanted to talk and catch up with you. Is that weird?" She asked him.

"Of course it is!" Trust him to shoot her hopes down. "I have some business with Sinbad."

"What do you need with Sinbad?" Her voice grew slightly fierce.

"Oh? What's this? Have you started to care for him?" Judal asked, and she tried not to let the emotion show on her face. "Are you in _love _with him? Well, if you must know, I'm here to convince him to join our side—he really is powerful. I also need to tell him that the Kou Empire has marked Sindria as an official enemy. Apparently Hakuryuu's mom wants him and Kougyoku back too…."

"Then, Judal, do you want to hear about my _love_ life problems?"

"Are you actually in love with him?"

"Completely," she said in a mock voice as if it weren't the truth.

"I know you're trying to make it sound like a lie, but I know it's true. This should be good," Judal said and suddenly she could feel his gravitation magic working on her as they flew down to a clearing in a forest.

"So, when'd you find out you were in love with a guy like Sinbad?" Judal asked with a smirk. We were alone and surrounded by trees, she felt that no one could disturb them there. As if the world's problems no longer applied to them and they could just talk.

"I never said I was in love with him," she defended.

"Cut the crap, Seiren. If you tell me, I'll tell you about how it's been like through the years…" he baited her.

"Okay so maybe I like him a little. Just a bit," Seiren replied, accepting the deal as she lay on her back in the forest. The grass prickled her skin, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

She ended up telling him about their journey together (excluding the part where she found information on the Organization) and how she thought that she could do nothing for him. How she was certain that he didn't feel the same, and how he didn't want a wife. How he was a king and the idea of her meaning something to him was impossible.

"For how much to talk to Sinbad, you really don't know a thing about him." Judal laughed, making her sit up to glare at him. "Do you really think he is the kind of guy who would care about status? I thought you were smarter."

"It's true that he doesn't seem like the type to care about that, but he has to, doesn't he? What would people think—?"

"People wouldn't care. And if they did then Sinbad would shut them up." He said easily, "You're so simple-minded. You think you can't do anything for him? That you'll be some burden? There's still something you haven't given him yet."

"Oh, really? And what's that?" Seiren asked him.

"A love confession."


	9. The Best Love Confession

**Chapter Nine: The Best Love Confession**

"_Muri, muri, muri, muri, muri!_" Seiren kept saying. Impossible!

"It's true though, isn't it?"

She decided to change the topic then, "Tell me about your life."

"Tell me about yours first. Not just about Sinbad."

"That really wasn't the deal," she replied flatly.

"I won't talk unless you do." He said, returning to the cynical guy he was. "Did you think I would tell you about myself so easily?"

She put on a cute face filled with uncertainty. "I thought you would because—we're family. Was I wrong?"

He was shocked by this new side of her, but she refused to laugh and instead kept talking. This was because truthfully, she wanted a reason to tell him more about herself. She had never known Judal until now, what kind of experiences had he faced without her? What made him so ice cold?

So she explained to him how she found the Kenna village, and about her life as a Dungeon Capturer. She told him about all the firsts she had experienced, like a kiss, or a beating, or even hitching a ride on a carriage without the owner knowing. She shared with him sad times and times where she felt proud and happy. And then when she was done, she faced him squarely and said in a fierce voice, "It's your turn, Judal. No running away."

"There's really not much to say. The rukh chose me when I was born and Al Thamen killed our entire village—except you. I've been taken advantage of since I was born and before I could even grasp the situation." Judal said with his voice holding a little sad before turning hard again. "Not that it matters. I do whatever I want whether they like it or not, so I go along their plans."

She thought he was lying to himself. It did matter, very much. It also appeared that he went along with their plans because he _wanted _to, not because he was forced. What did he really want to do? She hoped that he would find the answer one day.

Seiren stood up and looked down at him with a smile. The breeze was starting to cool with the setting of the sun. It was time for her to go. "Do what you want to do, Judal. No one can control you—not even me." And she meant that. If it really came down to it, she was sure that he would be able to break her command.

He got up as well, "Obviously. There's no way I'd ever let anyone tell me what to do."

And just because she wanted to know, she asked him, "Have you told anyone that I am your sister?"

"No, I haven't seen any reason to."

And because she also couldn't help him, she hugged him. "What the hell? Get off me!" Judal said in an angry voice. She felt his gravitation magic pulling her off and after one powerful burst; he sent her flying towards a tree. She didn't want to imagine what kind of treatment Yamraiha would have to give her for the injuries she would get.

But Seiren was never one to freeze in shock in the midst of action. She thought that anyone who did needed more practice, because one second where you are casting magic instead of idly standing there mouth gaping open can save your life.

Seiren had never thought this might happen. She had planned on using her sky magic to manipulate the force that sent to her so she could fly, but before she had time, she stopped. Her back never met the hard trunk of the tree. Instead Judal caught her and they softly landed, sitting on the ground with her leaning on him and him leaning on the tree.

"What was the point of that?" She asked him softly, "Throwing me towards the tree. Catching me. I don't understand."

"Trust you not to," he snorted.

"Somehow, I feel like this is what we should have been doing, growing up." She said, "Talking, smiling, fighting, and then magically saving each other before anything serious could happen."

"I didn't save you."

"I get it," she replied, standing up. "Thanks anyway, I'll give your message to Sinbad."

"You know what else you should give him?" He asked her.

"Hm?" She turned, interested in what he had to say.

"A confession."

There she went. Face beat red as she turned again so that he wouldn't see the embarrassment he caused her. "I'll be leaving now, bye." Seiren said, flying up in the air and returning to Sindria without looking back. But she was smiling. He had saved her from hitting the tree. This also meant that somewhere in his heart, he cared for her as his sister.

Entering Sindria from the air and getting past the barrier was easy. She wasn't part of Al Thamen so it didn't hinder her, and she flew right to one of the palace's baloneys, where she spotted Sinbad.

He ignored her when she came down. "Judal wanted to tell you that the Kou Empire has officially declared Sindria as their enemy and that the Emperor—or I guess the Empress—wants the prince and princess back. He also wants you on his side because your powerful."

Ignorance again.

"You look worried," she remarked, trying to get a better look at him. "I told you not to be."

"It's hard to not be worried when someone tells you to." Sinbad said.

"Don't think me a fool, Sinbad." She said, knowing that she was quoting herself and acting maybe a little over-confident. He was worried about her, she should feel grateful. But when she told him not to worry about her, couldn't he trust her? "I assess situations before I act."

"I understand that. But imagine if you were in my situation. Would you not be worried if I ran off like that?" He asked.

She was thinking. Would she? Yes, she definitely would be. But since it took her too long to answer, he made assumptions, eyes filling with disappointed. "Or maybe not. Never mind then."

_Okay, where did that come from?_ She thought. The alarm in her mind rang, as if telling her to clear the misunderstanding. _You know what else you should give him? A confession. _Judal's voice rang along with the alarm.

Right now? Was right now really the right time? She felt like stomping off, running away. But she took a breath. "Stu-pid." Calling a king stupid? Well, that got his attention. He turned to her, wide-eyed. She had the urge to look away, look out into the captivating view of Sindria, but kept her eyes locked on his. "Do you remember how you asked me if I was falling in love with you? I denied it at first. What is love? I thought. I'm not sure if I've ever truly experienced such a blissfully rumoured feeling. I've always been so cautious all my life, never trusting anyone after getting hurt so much. But then I started to think, and all I could come up with was you." Seiren said, "So, as an answer to your question, yes, I am falling in love with you. And I think that if it's you, then I could trust you."

There was a long silence as the wind blew. It was too long for Seiren, so she blabbered on. "Unless you don't feel the same way, I mean that's understandable, since you're—"

"Are my feelings that dully expressed?" He asked, cutting her off. "I've become quite taken with you. Why do you think my emotions get—as Yamraiha has recently told me—crazy when I see you're hurt?"

"Uh, because I've grown close to you and if a general had been hurt then you would have gone crazy as well?"

He looked at her realistically, as if waiting for her to catch on to some obvious part in what he had said. "You're not joking, are you?" she said, not allowing her hopes to get up. "I mean—you're a king! I'm some foreign commoner who barged in on your land!"

"All I need is someone I can look forward to seeing every day, and I'll accept all that comes with her," Sinbad quoted her. "I don't care about our statuses and I don't want to rush into anything. I just want to have a relationship first."

"You're absolutely serious."

"I don't think I've ever been more serious about something." He replied, leaning closer to her.

This time the kiss they shared was one of desire and longing. It was nothing like the soft one they shared before. His scent and the tender sounds of their breathing almost overwhelmed her, but it wasn't as noticeable as how fast her heart was beating. She wondered if he could hear it too. She parted her lips slightly a current of electricity raced through her. Seiren had never experienced such a hungry kiss, and she found that she liked kissing him. And he seemed to like kissing her.

Very, very much.

"Now then, shall we go?" Sinbad asked, "We have a lot of people to tell about us."

"Wait—you're planning on telling people?"

"Only my generals for the time being, but soon—"

"Only the generals." She cut him off.

"Right, sorry," he apologized, taking her hand. "I'm just eager and excited. We'll have a relationship first."

Her face turned red. What was happening? "So you _like _me?"

"I _love_ you."

Seiren could feel the heat rush to her cheeks, "How can you say that so easily?" She didn't want him to see her blushing face anymore, so she led the way into the castle.

He had said it. Was it a dream? What world had she transferred to? His hand held hers so gently, yet with a certainty, like he never wanted to let go. They walked inside the palace as she idly thought about what just happened. By now she had been able to memorize certain routes she took in the palace, but she was too distracted to realize that he had brought her to the dining hall where all the generals were patiently waiting for their king to come. Aladdin and the rest had decided on going out to eat today in the country.

Their chatter stopped. No one was looking at them, only their hands. The food was already out so the servants had gone. The dining hall was silent, all of them trying to deal with what they saw in different ways. All of them thought different things, but most of all, they were happy for their king.

And that was when the teasing started. "You finally decided, huh?" Drakos said.

"Having a wife is great, my king, I'm happy for you!" Hinahono put in.

Sinbad grinned and offered her a seat. It was the other head of the table. But the table was so long that she knew she would feel lonely sitting there, so she ignored her blush and spoke. "Nothing's final. Don't treat me differently, treat me the same. I won't sit at the head of the table like I'm someone important, because I don't think I am."

He sighed, "That's exactly what I thought you would say. Realize your worth someday, will you?" Sinbad took his seat at the more crowded head of the table and she took the seat to his right, beside Yamraiha.

Dinner was fun and relaxing as it usually was. The generals, while teasing them at the start, did not touch the topic again unless they thought she was comfortable with it and that meant a lot to her. When they all finished eating and were just talking as if to make the night seem longer, she pressed into a more serious subject.

"What did you guys conclude after I left?" She didn't have to include what she was talking about; they all knew that it was about Al Thamen.

"I dispatched Dungeon Capturers from different parts of the Seven Seas Alliance to help with the matter. They went to the meeting places on the list and are investigating there. It's nothing serious and they'll do what they need to, so don't worry." Sinbad replied. "Spartos was looking at the records of leaders for the Organization to try and find a pattern, as it wasn't updated recently."

"They're all male," Spartos spoke, "But that doesn't rule out the possibility of a female leader. Or perhaps the list is wrong or in code. Either way, I can't think of the Emperor of the Kou Empire bowing down to anyone, especially since she is so ruthless."

"True." Drakos pursed his lips, "but one of my acquaintances told me that he had been around one of the meeting spots once and heard that several agents claimed that their actions were according to the will of an individual whom they addressed as 'their father'."

"Sounds like a guy to me," Pisti said.

Yamraiha pursed her lips, "Or maybe it's code."

"Or we could be overthinking it and it really is just a guy." Hinahoho said.

Jafar put her hand on her chin in thought. "When did it say the last leader was born, Spartos?"

"Almost 120 years ago, there's no way that they're still alive." He replied, checking the list again.

Masrur, to Seiren's surprise, spoke. "You'd be surprised. Scheherazade of the Reim Empire has been alive for over 250 years."

"True, but she's a Magi." Seiren replied, deep in thought. "She makes clones from pieces of herself and transfers her conscious into them when her current body fails. The clone bodies aren't able to wield the same powers as a Magi so she becomes weaker, but extends her life."

"You guys are all overthinking this," Sharrkan said, almost sagely. "Scheherazade may be alive because she's a Magi, but if there's anyone who would want to live forever, it's got to be Al Thamen, right? 'Defy destiny' and that sort of thing; I'm sure that if anyone could come up with a way for just one human to live a little longer than normal, it's got to be Al Thamen. And they have the Kou Empire's help as well which _also _includes the help of what? A Magi."

"So you think Judal could be making clones for the leader of Al Thamen?" Seiren asked, suddenly concerned that he might be handling more stress than she had originally thought.

"I don't think he knows the exact identity," Sinbad said. "While he is a Magi, Judal can also be childish. They've been using him for so long—I think they would make him do it as a child. That way he wouldn't understand nor remember anything and he still would have enough power. Clones are only needed to be made every sixty years or so, therefore he might not even remember."

"No, Magi shouldn't be able to extend another's life span," Jafar said with certainty.

"But if Sharrkan's theory is right, the leader could be weaker than presumed," Drakos said, "and the leader could be the same as the last one on the list."

"Oi," Yamraiha said, pulling on Sharrkan's cheeks. "When did you suddenly become so smart?"

"Whatever are you talking about, my dear Yamraiha?" He asked in mock-hurt, ignoring the pull on his cheeks and putting a dramatic hand on his chest. "I was this smart all along!"

"It's getting late," Sinbad called over their ruckus, "I'll send people to look over the people on the list and check if any are still alive without giving them too much information. Let's sleep on it and see what we come up with."

"I can handle that, Sin," Jafar offered. The king thanked his close friend and everyone ushered off to either sleep or relax a bit. With all the talk of war, she thought that everyone needed at least a little moment of rest.

But she just couldn't. There was so much going on and so much to worry about. She wanted Al Thamen to be destroyed after hearing their purpose, getting more information, and learning that they had previously destroyed another world. She wanted to end them for taking away her family and creating a tremendous gap between herself and her brother.

"Stop worrying, Seiren. We'll get through this together; you aren't alone. Share the burden with me," Sinbad said, taking her hand as they sat on her bed.

"I understand," she replied, "but you should share your burdens with me as well. I know you're thinking about a whole lot more than you let on."

He nodded, pulling her into a big hug. It felt good to be able to rest against him, breathing in his scent. It helped to clear her mind and she soon found herself focusing on only him. She wondered when the last time it was since she was able to embrace someone like that and feel safe and at ease. It had been a long time.

They shared a sweet kiss, one that shared each other's feelings for the other clearly. When they parted and he wished her a good rest, she couldn't seem to help herself and kissed him again before he finally left.

Seiren bit her lip gently, toying with it. They were the same lips as the ones that kissed Sinbad. They were lips that belonged to him alone. She briefly wondered if he was planning anything in secret, anything rash that would benefit everyone except himself, but she brushed the idea aside. He was king, there was no way he could or should risk his life to the point of certain death for one cause. She could do that.

If it came to it, she would do it. In her mind, Seiren was already devising a plan to get rid of Al Thamen by herself if need be. It was her last resort; her trump card. _If things get too far, I'll definitely use _that_, no matter what. _


	10. Old Friend

**Chapter Ten: Old Friend**

"Sharkkan, I leave the rest to you!"

"Of course!" Sharkkan replied in a playful voice, jumping into the air, his blade ready.

A Southern Creature had crept past the guards and neared the country during mid-afternoon. It wouldn't have gotten past the barrier, but Sinbad had thought that everyone needed a little time to relax, and so Yamraiha let it in. It was blue in colour and longer than any street in the country. It hissed as the citizens started gathering around to watch the Eight Generals tackle it. Jafar had wrapped his ribbons along the creature's body, sustaining it in the air as Sharkkan sliced and filleted the creature onto a platter for the taking. They had such finesse, Seiren could not see any signs that his blade had sliced through a creature when he had finished nor could she see any signs of fatigue in either of the generals faces. The people who gathered cheered and sat in awe of the generals.

"Do you want to take part in this one too, Seiren?" Sinbad offered me with a grin.

"This is your first Mahrajan Festival since you came to Sindria, right?" Yamraiha asked, flying in the air and stopping to hover right beside her. "Take some part in it!"

She couldn't see how she could help. The creature was already laid out for everyone. Then she got an idea and grabbed her right sword, equipping Zayn's weapon and pointing it towards the meat. Big flames were sent spiralling from her sword to the creature's meat, engulfing it. She cut the flames off when she thought it was enough and found the meat to be cooked.

"I haven't seen that one yet, when did you get that djinn?" A voice appeared from behind her.

There was really no mistaking the playful medium-toned voice. It was one that was unique and couldn't get mixed up for anyone or anything. She turned to find a tall young man, her age, with short blonde hair and purple eyes. He had an amused look on his face as he crossed the distance between the two of them and hugged her, a little too tight.

Seiren didn't return the hug, mostly because her hands were filled and because she was in shock. Also, having Sinbad there without any explanation as to why someone else was hugging her really didn't help. He didn't hug her too long, though, as he let go of her and messed up her hair.

"You're the same as always, Hiro." She said with a sigh, trying to fix her hair messily back in place. "What brings you to Sindria?"

"To find you, of course," He snorted, "it seems you've found yourself in a mess yet again."

"I can't help it," she replied sheepishly, "It's seems as though Misfortune can't get enough of me."

"I'm sure happiness will fight for you as well," Hiro said, his tone growing soft.

Seiren shrugged, "maybe." Realizing that everyone was waiting for an introduction, she quickly pointed towards everyone and told Hiro their names. "Everyone, this is Hiroshi. He's an old friend from Kenna village and probably the only kid who didn't pick on me at the time."

Sinbad shook his hand, before putting it on my shoulder, "thanks for taking care of Seiren."

Hiro eyed the hand briefly as if receiving some hidden message, "You too."

They walked through town towards the palace, greeting the citizens and seeing how happy they were to have another festival and also to be able to be full tonight. The air was cool and refreshing so they ended up sitting on the rooftop to eat and everyone became plenty full by the end.

Sinbad raised his glass on the roof to his people and they cheered at the sight. Everyone danced below them, it was such a great festival, and clever as well. Sinbad turned towards Hiro, who was laughing at something Spartos had said. "You are a Dungeon Capturer, Hiroshi?"

"Eh?" Seiren said, looking Hiro up and down. The last time she checked, he hadn't conquered any dungeons. But it was true; the sword that he always carried around had the eight-pointed star on it. She walked around him and plucked the sword from his waist sneakily trying to get a look at it.

"Hey!" He yelled, trying to grab the vessel back. He was taller than her, so she kept inching away playfully, being reminded of how they used to play tag as kids.

"What djinn is this?"

Hiro finally managed to grab the sword back from her and refastened it at his waist. "The 39th Djinn, Malphas of Protection and Threat. He controls Earth. I don't have much magoi or power but I was able to conquer him, somehow. I think they'll be the only djinn I conquer, otherwise my magoi won't be able to hold out."

"Well good for you, it must have been a good experience," Sinbad said, "I would like to ask for your alliance as we fight Al Thamen."

"Sure, it's the organization that took Seiren's village out, right? Then I'll do it," Hiro said easily.

Sinbad thanked him and returned to the enjoyment of the festival. She showed Hiro around the palace, curious about his recent activities. "What have you been doing all these years?"

"Training, mostly. Looking to where you had disappeared to, although every time I showed up you had moved on once again. You never really said goodbye when you left, did you?"

"I left you a message," she defended.

"Did you think a message was enough? Is that really what our friendship was worth?" Hiro asked her harshly before changing the subject. "There's nothing we can do about it now, right? I don't blame you. I would have come with you."

They moved outside to where the people were dancing. She saw on the rooftop that Sinbad was thoroughly drunk and had several women by his side, fawning over him. A fire of jealousy bloomed within her but she dimmed it. "Jealous?" Hiro guessed. "He is very protective of you; it's not hard to guess that you guys have gotten together."

"I'm not jealous," she insisted, "we are together but we couldn't let many know, especially with the war with Al Thamen. They would use it against us. I'm sure he's just keeping up an image."

"Yup, that's definitely what he's doing," he sarcastically agreed. "Want to dance?"

It had been a long time since they had danced together. The Kenna village had had a similar dance to Sindria's, but it required a partner. It was a fun, sincere dance, and one she had almost forgotten. It felt good and brought her back to old times when they were young and carefree.

"So what have you been up to?" Hiro asked her as they danced.

"Not much. I aligned myself with Sindria and found Judal. He doesn't really care for me, but I think I'm warming up to him," she replied.

"Hey, I need to tell you something," He said, drawing her close so that he whispered into her ear. "I infiltrated Al Thamen."

Their dance stopped as her eyes grew wide. She no longer saw him as Hiro the childhood friend, but instead as Hiroshi a potential enemy. Seiren took the lead then and twirled them to the side, ushering him around a corner and pinning him against the wall. "What?"

"Oh, you turned on me so easily," he said in disappointment. "Is it that you don't trust me after all? I said I _infiltrated _Al Thamen, not that I joined them."

"_Why _would you do that? Even if it's for information! Do you know how easily it is for them to persuade someone?" Seiren said, her voice going hard. "If you joined them, they could convince you to do the worst things, Hiro, and they would make you feel like you were doing the _right _thing!"

"I'll always be on your side, Seiren. No matter what," he said, "I was getting information by being on their side. Besides, it's not like it matters. I'm out now; I just thought you would want to know."

"No one is ever _out _of Al Thamen, Hiro—what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking of you!" He shouted, "What else? Do you know how bad I felt all those times you cried because you had no family? How much I wanted to help you when you left to become stronger?"

She let go of him, a realization coming over her as she closed her eyes. "Thank you for doing this for me. And I'm sorry for not taking you with me, I'm sorry that you joined the Organization because of me. It must have been hard."

"It doesn't take much to join them, you just have to be motivated and you have to be even a little fallen. But they make you go through harsh things to be able to trust you."

They sat then, leaning against the wall. "All those years you've been trying to earn their trust? Why didn't you get a black djinn rather than a light one?"

"My job in the Organization was to infiltrate other countries and bring them down from the inside. Having black djinn would be suspicious. But the things I have done…." He stared at his hands.

"And you were out? Aren't they trying to kill you?"

"I got enough information about you and their plans for Sindria so I faked my death. I didn't want to do anything anymore and I felt like if I stayed any longer I really would fall. Heck, half the time when I was with them I felt really insane." He said, "I'm not even sure if I can talk about it but I know that I need to explain."

"I'm sorry, Hiro." Hot tears of frustration and sadness started rolling down her face. "I'm sorry. You don't have to say anything."

"No, I'll tell you all of it. That's the reason I went through with it. I have to." Hiro said, "but Seiren, I need you to command me to never betray you or Sindria."

She wiped her eyes and willed her crying to stop. Nothing would get done by crying, she knew that, but she felt so bad. "Would you ever betray me?"

"I don't know. I don't know anymore. I wouldn't want to," he replied sullenly, "can you do it? Please?"

Seiren nodded and moved to face him. Then she used all her might to command him never to betray her or Sindria. And yet, the act felt improper and wrong as if she should never have needed to command him in the first place.


End file.
